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General Policies

Thank you for choosing WAGD as your training partner. We are happy to have you in our program! Our policies are designed to support a safe, fun, collaborative educational environment and to create a structure that is fair to the customer, the dogs and our business.

We will make a decision based on road conditions in the area immediately surrounding facilities & will notify those scheduled to attend via email. If your class is cancelled, you will not be charged for that class. All weather-related closures will be posted on the homepage of our website whatagreatdog.com and on our Facebook page. 

On occasion, classes will have to be cancelled due to instructor illness or vacation. We will communicate those situations as early as possible via e-mail and announcements in class (when lead time allows). If an issue causes a last minute cancellation, we will also attempt to call everyone on the class roster. Please make certain we have the correct e-mail address and phone number on file for you. Anytime WAGD (or one of our instructors) cancels class, students will not be charged for the session. Ongoing Class students will not have a class credit deducted from their pack. 6 Week Session students will have their class extended by one week when possible (or a partial refund will be issued).

All adult participants are required to sign a liability waiver prior to starting class. If a minor child will be participating, a parent or guardian must sign the waiver on their behalf.

A copy of our liability waiver can be found here

For Group Classes, refunds or credits are available only for classes dropped at least one week prior to the first class meeting.

Private Lesson schedule changes should be made at least 24 hours prior to the lesson time. In the interest of fairness to our instructors, after one late cancellation (less than 24 hours prior) or no-show, you will be responsible for paying the private lesson fee for missed lessons.

Having the whole family on the same page is certainly the best place to be. But our recommendation is that you heavily involve your children who are under 12 years old in the homework, rather than having them do the work during class time. Our group classes are fast paced and taught at an adult level. You won’t have time to translate instructions to your child and get all your reps in. The dog will do best with an adult initially training the behavior. Then, your children can help with the at-home practice to solidify the behavior. It will be less stressful for the dog and more fun for your children that way.

Here is our age specific policy for our group classes.

  • Under 8 years: we require an extra adult be in attendance with children this age
  • 8 – 11 years: are allowed to observe (with instructor approval may be able to assist you in class, ). Children must sit with you in the training ring and not be disruptive in any way. Please bring a quiet toy, if needed.
  • 12 – 15 years: at the discretion of the instructor, if this age child has control of the dog, they may be allowed to independently handle a dog in class, with an adult present in the ring.
  • 16 and over: are allowed to attend class without an adult present.

During private lessons, you may choose to bring children of any age.

While in the facility, all children must observe the following rules:

  • Children must stay with their parents at all times.
  • Children may only approach a dog in the facility AFTER getting permission from the dog’s owner.
  • Children must walk, not run, inside he facility. 
Dogs must be up-to-date with vaccines according to the schedule recommended by your veterinarian. Puppies must have received their second set of vaccinations at least 5 days prior to visiting WAGD. If your dog is ill, do not bring him to class. He won’t be able to learn if he’s feeling poorly. And if his issue is communicable, other dogs could be exposed. You may choose to attend class without your dog, in order to keep up with the material.
Female dogs who are in season are allowed in class (wearing britches). However, consider the fact that your dog may be so restless that participating in class is difficult. This will especially be true during the second phase of the heat cycle, known as “standing heat”.

Dogs displaying aggressive or highly reactive behavior are not suitable for group classes. In many cases, we’ll be able to help in private sessions. 
For safety and insurance reasons, dogs with a human bite history are not allowed in the facility. The exceptions to this rule are puppy biting, resource guarding and some bites incurred while being handled for veterinary or grooming procedures. If your dog has only bitten in one of those exception scenarios, it is required that you let our staff know that when you book your initial service.  

If we feel your dog will be most successful with an in-home trainer or canine behaviorist, we will provide quality referral options for you.

Students may not attend a different class to make-up for missed classes.  It’s important that the student continues at home practice and uses class notes and videos (when available) to keep up.  We find that missing a single class in a 6-week session is typically not problematic.

In our Pet Manners program, if more than one class will be missed in a 6-week session, a make-up private lesson (additional fee applies) is required in order to be eligible to promote into the next level. Make-up privates are available at a discounted rate to cover the material that was missed. In order to be eligible for the discounted rate, the private must be booked no later than 2 weeks after the last scheduled meeting. 

For Pet Manners classes, we offer discounted private sessions ($40 / half hour) for those who would like to make-up for a missed group class session. To be eligible for this discounted rate the private lesson must be booked no later than 2 weeks after the last scheduled meeting of the class. 

Littermates or dogs of similar ages (within one year of each other) age who live in the same household are not allowed to attend the same Class Readiness Evaluation, Puppy Preschool or Manners 1 class.

Dogs from the same household who are of different ages (at least a year apart) may attend the same Class Readiness Evaluation.  They will be evaluated on their ability to attend the same Manners class.

Dogs are typically highly distracted by that scenario and do not do well in class together. Private lessons can occasionally accommodate multiple dogs. Whether that is a good idea will depend on the goals for that lesson and the individual dogs’ temperaments and level of training.

Our more advanced weekly classes are in an ongoing format. In other words, you join the class and stay with that same day/time until you give notice to drop it. The roster and payment policies are different than our lower level session classes (e.g. 6-week classes), in that you remain on the roster indefinitely (until you give notice). The price per visit drops, but to hold your spot on the roster you must pay for every week that class is held.

To join these classes, you pay in advance for at least four consecutive classes. You are committing to being charged for each week that the class is held (even if you don’t attend). If the class is not held (due to holiday, instructor absence, etc), you will not be charged.

If you’d like to come off the roster and not pay for class, while you take a break or go on vacation, that’s not a problem. But we cannot hold your spot on the roster. You are required to give notice that you want to be removed from the roster with 1 WEEK WRITTEN NOTICE (please send an email to info@whatagreatdog.com). Then, 1 week prior to the date you want to start back you can be added to a roster. But we cannot hold a spot on the roster for your re-entry date until no more than one week before you plan to come back. The reason for this policy is to prevent classes from running with open spots when there are students anxious to fill those spots. Give us a call when you’re ready to return and we will work hard to find an appropriate class that has an opening for you.

ENROLLMENT

  • Your enrollment in class is Ongoing, meaning that you are on the roster until you give notice to drop the class.
  • When you want to drop the class, you must give 1  WEEK WRITTEN NOTICE sent via email to info@whatagreatdog.com.
  • You are responsible for payment for all classes up to the cancellation effective date

PAYMENT

  • Class packs (multiples of 4 for each ongoing class in which you are enrolled) are purchased for consecutive class meetings and hold your spot on the roster. Please note: Payment is for consecutive classes HELD (not attended). For example, if you miss a class, you will still be charged.
  • Your class pack will not be used if WAGD cancels class
  • Your options for payment:
    • Auto-pay – our system automatically re-news your pack when it runs out by charging your credit card on file. You can opt out of this option at any time.
    • Manual Payment – This option requires you to go online, stop by our office, or give us a call to make payment on or before the last day of your pack.

PRICING 

  • $100 for each 4-pack for all Ongoing classes
  • 5% discount is given for 12-packs
  • Class Drop-Ins are $30 per class. This is only an option with instructor approval and as long as there is space on the class roster. This option does NOT guarantee you will have a space in class.
We provide limited ring rental opportunities for current clients wanting to practice in our rings. For the agility ring, please refer to the Agility Ring Policies page. To utilize the other training rings, students must be currently enrolled in group class and have previously completed Manners 2 or higher. The intent of the ring rentals is strictly for training. We do not offer ring rentals for exercising or playing with your dog. Both of those activities are important (we love playing with our dogs!). But, they just don’t work out for our facility. We recommend checking with an area doggy daycare for playroom rental availability.

Introduction
What a Great Dog! Training Centers is a privately owned business offering dog training and retail services. We are committed to protecting any data that we collect from you.  By using our services, you agree to the use of the data that we collect in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

We are committed to protecting your privacy
We collect the minimum amount of information about you in order to provide you with a satisfactory service. This Privacy Policy indicates the type of processes that may result in data being collected about you. Your use of this website gives us the right to collect that information.

Information Collected
We may collect any or all of the information that you give us depending on the type of transaction you enter into, including your name, address, telephone number, and email address, together with data about your use of the website.  Other information that may be needed from time to time to process a request may also be collected as indicated on the website.

Data in relation to credit card payments and reserving space in workshops and classes is processed by Mind-Body Online (www.mindbodyonline.com) on a secure website linked to ours and they have their own privacy policy.

Information Use
We use the information collected primarily to process the task for which you visited the website. All reasonable precautions are taken to prevent unauthorized access to this information.  This safeguard may require you to provide additional forms of identity should you wish to obtain information about your account details.

Cookies
The Site may use cookie and tracking technology depending on the features offered. Cookie and tracking technology are useful for gathering information such as browser type and operating system, tracking the number of visitors to the Site, and understanding how visitors use the Site. Cookies can also help customize the Site for visitors. Personal information cannot be collected via cookies and other tracking technology, however, if you previously provided personally identifiable information, cookies may be tied to such information. Aggregate cookie and tracking information may be shared with third parties.

Commitment to Data Security

Your personally identifiable information is kept secure. Only authorized employees, agents and contractors (who have agreed to keep information secure and confidential) have access to this information. All emails and newsletters from this site allow you to opt out of further mailings.

Privacy Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about our privacy policy you may contact us using the information below:

By e-mail: info@whatagreatdog.com

We reserve the right to make changes to this policy. Any changes to this policy will be posted.



Agility Ring Policies

  • If your dog repeatedly marks or potties in the ring, they will be excused from agility classes at WAGD.
  • Prevent accidents:
    • Your dog is only allowed on the turf when he is running. Not while you’re walking the course, setting bars or talking.
    • Don’t allow sniffing before, after or during your run
    • Take multiple outside potty breaks, if needed.
    • If you think your dog may pee on the turf, use a belly band (males) or britches (females) as an insurance policy
  • Handle an accident properly by IMMEDIATELY spot cleaning the area thoroughly with the spray cleaner and the blue shop towels located near the ring
  • Be SURE that any treat that hits the floor is eaten or picked up right away
  • No crumbly treats
  • We encourage the use of tugs, toys, training tubes and “lotus” balls during training
  • Make sure NO FOOD OR CRUMBS are left in the ring when you leave
  • Must be a current WAGD student, who has completed Great Agility or higher.
  • Lower level students may only rent the ring with instructor approval. 
  • Private ring rentals are available at a rate of $20 per half hour, it can be shared by a maximum of 3 WAGD students. A 10 pack of ring rentals is available for pre-purchase for 15% discount.
  • The agility equipment may not be moved, except setting jump heights (please use the provided plastic gloves).
  • You are limited to the equipment that is on the field. Call ahead to confirm what equipment is on the field. Some weeks may be “jumpers week” with no contact equipment setup. 

Ongoing Class Policies

Our more advanced weekly classes are in an ongoing format. In other words, you join the class and stay with that same day/time until you give notice to drop it. The roster and payment policies are different than our lower level session classes (e.g. 6-week classes), in that you remain on the roster indefinitely (until you give notice). The price per visit drops, but to hold your spot on the roster you must pay for every week that class is held.

To join these classes, you pay in advance for at least four consecutive classes. You are committing to being charged for each week that the class is held (even if you don’t attend). If the class is not held (due to holiday, instructor absence, etc), you will not be charged.

If you’d like to come off the roster and not pay for class, while you take a break or go on vacation, that’s not a problem. But we cannot hold your spot on the roster. You are required to give notice that you want to be removed from the roster with 1 WEEK WRITTEN NOTICE (please send an email to info@whatagreatdog.com). Then, 1 week prior to the date you want to start back you can be added to a roster. But we cannot hold a spot on the roster for your re-entry date until no more than one week before you plan to come back. The reason for this policy is to prevent classes from running with open spots when there are students anxious to fill those spots. Give us a call when you’re ready to return and we will work hard to find an appropriate class that has an opening for you.

  • Your enrollment in class is Ongoing, meaning that you are on the roster until you give notice to drop the class.
  • When you want to drop the class, you must give 1 WEEK WRITTEN NOTICE sent via email to info@whatagreatdog.com.
  • You are responsible for payment for all classes up to the cancellation effective date
  • Class packs (multiples of 4 for each ongoing class in which you are enrolled) are purchased for consecutive class meetings and hold your spot on the roster. Please note: Payment is for consecutive classes HELD (not attended). For example, if you miss a class, you will still be charged.
  • Your class pack will not be used if WAGD cancels class
  • Your options for payment:
    • Auto-pay – our system automatically re-news your pack when it runs out by charging your credit card on file. You can opt out of this option at any time.
    • Manual Payment – This option requires you to go online, stop by our office, or give us a call to make payment on or before the last day of your pack.
  • $100 for each 4-pack for all Ongoing classes
  • 5% discount is given for 12-packs, $285 ($15 savings)
  • Class Drop-Ins are $30 per class. This is only an option with instructor approval and as long as there is space on the class roster. This option does NOT guarantee you will have a space in class.